Bicycles are a form of transportation, not just recreation. Traveling by bicycle leads to positive results for health, air quality, automobile congestion, and overall regional mobility. DVRPC encourages context-sensitive safe and comfortable bicycle accommodations throughout the region as a part of a complete streets framework. Complete streets are designed and operated to accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, and drivers, and maximize regional mobility. DVRPC’s Bicycle Planning unit supports local bicycle planning efforts through data collection, a mix of ongoing programs and specific planning projects, and the identification of best practices that may be appropriate for the region.
Planning Tools
To support effective bicycle planning, DVRPC develops planning tools to understand more about what is happening in the region and how to plan for the future
Bicycle Cyclical Count Program StoryMap
DVRPC’s Bicycle Cyclical Count Program, launched in 2014, collects and analyzes bicycle volumes to track trends at 134 locations in the nine-county region. The story map analyzes bicycle volumes from 2014 to 2022 with the purpose of providing planners, lawmakers, and the public with a better understanding of changes in bicycle volumes over time, across different geographies, and on different bicycle facility types.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Programs
In 2014, DVRPC started an ongoing Cyclical Bike Count Program, which strategically counts bikes in representative roadway and trail locations throughout the region on a regular basis. The program helps track bicycling trends over time. Counts associated with that program, as well as all other counts conducted since 2010, can be found in the Travel Monitoring Counts Viewer.
In addition, DVRPC began a permanent counting program at over 10 locations along Circuit Trails around the region, thanks to generous support from the William Penn Foundation and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, who provided funds for equipment acquisition. Bicyclists and pedestrians are counted 24 hours per day, 365 days per year at these locations, and the data is all accessible online.
Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress and Connectivity Analysis
Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) is a road classification scheme based on the comfort of bicyclists using that road. DVRPC’s LTS assignment is based on the number of lanes, effective vehicle speed, and presence/type of bicycle facility. This regional screening tool was developed to help identify and rank roads where bicycle facility improvements would have the greatest local and regional connectivity benefit to the low-stress bicycle network.
AccessScore
AccessScore is an analysis that assesses the infrastructure and demographic characteristics around transit stations that relate to how supportive of bicycling and walking the area is and how much bicycle and pedestrian activity could be occurring there. The analysis includes Regional Rail, light rail, trolley, and subway stations throughout the Philadelphia region with service provided by SEPTA, NJ TRANSIT, and PATCO.
Recent Publications & Products
DVRPC routinely conducts a number of bicycle access and planning specific studies. Listed here are the most recent publications and products.
Planning for New Jersey Transit Bus Service Alongside Bicycle Facilities
As Complete Streets are implemented across New Jersey, New Jersey Transit and other transit agencies are looking to align their operations to improve the safety of bus operators, passengers boarding and alighting at stops, bicyclists, and pedestrians. This memo provides recommended street design, stakeholder communication, and operational strategies to reduce interactions between NJ TRANSIT buses and bicyclists.
Bicycle Cyclical Count Program StoryMap
DVRPC’s Bicycle Cyclical Count Program, launched in 2014, collects and analyzes bicycle volumes to track trends at 134 locations in the nine-county region. The story map analyzes bicycle volumes from 2014 to 2022 with the purpose of providing planners, lawmakers, and the public with a better understanding of changes in bicycle volumes over time, across different geographies, and on different bicycle facility types.
Video: Trenton Bike Plan
The City of Trenton and DVRPC are creating a bicycle plan that is inclusive of all Trentonians. The plan, called Our Streets: A Trenton Bike Plan for All, proposes adding bicycle lanes and making design changes on certain streets within the City to increase safety for ALL road users, including bicyclists, skaters, scooters, pedestrians, and drivers.
Video: E-Micromobility Summit
DVRPC’s E-Micromobility Summit brought together national and regional experts, local planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders to explore the latest developments and challenges in the rapidly evolving e-micromobility landscape. The Summit provided an overview of design principles to consider when planning for e-micromobility, before shifting into a panel discussion of what is known and unknown about how e-micromobility is shaping the future of sustainable transportation.
A New Route to Better Travel for All: The Regional TDM Plan
This strategic plan is a working document that is intended to be the foundation for the solicitation, selection, and implementation of transportation demand management (TDM) work conducted in the bi-state DVRPC region.
Mobility Choices: Transportation Conversations in Three Black and Latino Communities in the Greater Philadelphia Region
The objective of this project is to better understand how people living in communities of color in the DVRPC region choose their mode of transportation, and what physical, social, or structural forces shape those choices. We did this by surveying in three communities: North Trenton, NJ; Norristown, PA; and Mantua/East Parkside neighborhoods in Philadelphia. The intent of this work is to develop a report and qualitative dataset that can be used by DVRPC and its regional partners to better understand the needs of these communities and inform decision making around future transportation programming and planning
Trenton Complete Streets Design Handbook
The Trenton Complete Streets Design Handbook was created by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission in collaboration with the City of Trenton, Mercer County, NJDOT, and additional community stakeholders. The handbook proposes a series of design treatments and overlays, along with implementation steps, to implement Complete Streets on a variety of different street typologies.
Assessing Openness to Biking to Transit at Three Regional Rail Stations in Delaware County
In an effort to improve intermodal trips that include biking to Regional Rail in Delaware County, DVRPC examined bicycle usage and openness to biking through in-person surveying and existing conditions analysis at three Regional Rail stations. DVRPC worked with Delaware County to select three stations to include in the study: Swarthmore, Lansdowne, and Norwood. The findings inform strategies that will better accommodate and encourage current and future cyclists.
Programs
DVRPC provides technical assistance or guidance to local governments on a wide range of topics. Below is a list of those programs.
Expo: Experimental Pop-ups
DVRPC’s Expo: Experimental Pop-ups program offers assistance to communities to test innovative solutions to transportation problems through demonstration, or pop-up projects. Program staff assists communities to design, implement, and measure projects that apply various pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and roadway strategies that address safety and placemaking.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Programs
To support effective pedestrian planning, DVRPC has an ongoing program to collect pedestrian and bicycle counts on roadways and trails throughout the region using infrared equipment.
Complete Streets Resurfacing Program
The DVRPC/PennDOT Connects Complete Streets Resurfacing Program is an effort to identify roads for potential investment in bike friendly improvements as part of regularly scheduled PennDOT resurfacing projects.
Funding Opportunities
Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program (TASA)
The TASA Program provides funds to build pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve access to public transportation, create safe routes to school, preserve historic transportation structures, provide environmental mitigation, and create trail projects that serve a transportation purpose while promoting safety and mobility.
DVRPC Regional Trails Program
The Regional Trails Program, administered by DVRPC, with funding from the William Penn Foundation, aims to capitalize upon the region's rich network of "rights-of-ways" by providing funding for targeted, priority trail design, construction and planning projects that will promote a truly connected, regional network of multi-use trails throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
Travel Options Program (TOP)
In 2020, DVRPC developed a formal and coordinated Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program for the nine-county Greater Philadelphia region. Through a biennial, two-part competitive search process, DVRPC seeks creative ideas that will reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) on the region’s roadways and improve accessibility to, and equity across, all modes of transportation.
Safe Routes to Schools
The Safe Routes to Schools program is funded through the Federal Highway Administration's Federal Aid Program. Under the most recent legislation, funding does not provide for a standalone SRTS Program. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has elected to continue funding the SRTS program separately. The objectives of the SRTS Program are to enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school.
Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TSCDI)
The Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TCDI) is a grant opportunity that funds local planning initiatives that also advance the goals of the region’s long-range plan, Connections 2050: Plan for Greater Philadelphia. TCDI focuses on linking land use, transportation, and economic development planning that promotes the use of transit, bike, and pedestrian transportation modes.
DVRPC Municipal Funding Guide
This guide is intended to assist local and county governments, community groups and nonprofit organizations in the Delaware Valley Region to identify federal, state, county, and private sources of funding for locally initiated planning and development projects. Funding opportunities are listed by program, category, and eligibility requirements.